Rictenus was said to be a (Gaulish?) god of medicine that was
worshipped by the Druids. To him was dedicated the herb 'Belinimica'
which is thought to be a species of Henbane. I can find no information
on this god or his herb in any of my Celtic texts or web searches. Can
you?

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Request for Question Clarification by answerfinder-ga on 23 Feb 2003 05:30 PST

I could not find anything on Rictenus. However, the herb may be known
as belene, belune or belinuntia. Named after Belenus, which according
to some sites, was a god of medicine or healing. These are the
relevant sites:

"Male and female Gods of the Celts
BELENUS is the God of the light, the water and the medicine. His
partner is the female God of the night SIRONA. The Romans compared
BELENUS with their God Apoll. In his honour there is the
Beltane-celebration every year."
http://www.uni-duisburg.de/SCHULEN/STG/Irland/Celts/ReligionCelts.htm

"Belenus (Bel or Belenos)
(Gaul) God of healing and light, and referred to as "The Shining One".
He is in charge of the welfare of sheep and cattle. His wife is the
goddess Belisama. They can be compared with Apollo and Minerva."
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/northernpagans/ofbc/Goddessnames.html

"The Curious Lore and Magical Property of Plants
Henbane was also known as Herba Appolinaris in ancient times,
connecting it with the sun god Apollo. Perhaps the priestesses of the
Delphic Oracle prophesied under the influence of the buming vapors of
the plant. The plant is also associated with Belenus, the Celtic Sun
God.
It is known as belene or belune in Anglo Saxon, bilse in German,
belisa in Old High German, bielun in Polish, belend in Hungarian and
belena in Russian. All these words being derived from the same source
and in the Celtic language it was known as belinuntia. So here we have
a tantalizing connection between Belenus and Apollo, both solar
deities, and the Henbane herb that was associated with both of them.
The priestesses of Belenus may also have used Henbane in their
rituals. Belenus (or Belinus), the God of Light, had a dark double or
tanist known as Bran, the God of the Underworld in Celtic mythology,
who alternately conquered and was conquered by him."
http://www.compostcoven.org/cnl/dianeyule88henbane.html

Let me know if this could be the answer and I shall conduct further
research.

answerfinder-ga

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Clarification of Question by celtman-ga on 23 Feb 2003 12:59 PST

Thank you for your research which is interesting, although
speculative. I can see a word association between the herb name
'Belinimica' and belene ect, although belene (which later became
henbell and then henbane) is actually an 11th century Anglo-Saxon word
which refers to the bell shaped flowers of the plant and not to the
God Belenus.

If Rictenus was another name for Belenus I would expect to see it
listed as such in standard books on Celtic mythology. It isn't,
although the association is still possible.

Despite all of this, you could still be on the right track although I
was hoping to uncover some information which directly mentions the
words 'Rictenus' and 'Belinimica'. I took both these names from a
reliable herbal which was published in 1919.